1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solder joints where one or more conductor ends are brought together and soldered. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved method for making a solder joint and the solder joint made thereby where it is desired to create a solder joint between a wire end portion extending from a coil mounted on a hub and an end tab of a male or female connector mounted on a support fixed to the hub and wherein there is a multiple of such connections to be made in a multi-coil assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore in a multi-coil assembly where wire end portions from the coils are connected to respective male or female connectors mounted on cantilever support arms fixed to and extending from the hub on which the coils are mounted it has been customary to bring the wire end portions out to an upstanding rear end tab of the connector and twist the wire end portion around the end tab. After all the wire end portions are so twisted around end tabs, the end tabs are dipped in hot solder to solder the connection of each twisted wire end portion to each respective end tab.
In the construction described above some problems have been incurred in that pulling a wire end portion adjacent a cantilever support causes twisting or bending of the cantilever arm support such that the connectors are not in alignment with each other and this causes difficulty in coupling a terminal block with female connectors onto male connectors supported on the cantilever arm supports.
Also, a worker in twisting a wire end portion around an end tab does not always provide a good metal to metal connection between the twisted wire end portion and the end tab. Additionally, sometimes the twisted wire end portion will spring off the end tab and no connection is made when the end tabs are dipped into solder.
Furthermore, when a plurality of coils are mounted on the hub with a plurality of cantilever support arms, each with a male connector mounted thereon and the connector having an end tab extending outwardly from the connector and the support arm, problems have been incurred in dipping the end tabs with wire end portion(s) twisted therearound. In this respect, thick conductors are hard to twist around an end tab and the twisted end portion thereof around an end tab is bulky. Also where several wire end portions are twisted around an end tab, the resulting assembly is bulky. Such bulky assemblies take up a significant amount of space. As a result, there is often times insufficient spacing between adjacent end tabwire end portion(s) assemblies to meet electrical and mechanical specifications. Additionally, when these assemblies are dipped in a hot solder bath, bridging of solder between adjacent assemblies often occurs short circuiting the assemblies which is highly undesirable.
It has heretofore been proposed to provide various sleeves for connecting wire end portions. A common example is the wire joint sold under the trademark "WIRE-NUT".
Also it has been proposed to provide a sleeve with solder therein and to insert two or more wire end portions into the sleeve and heat the same for soldering the wire end portions together. See the Simpson U.S. Pat. No. 4,174,563.
Further it has been proposed to provide terminal pins which are hollow and which extend from a printed circuit board and into which one or more wire end portions can be inserted followed by heating the pin while inserting solder from a coiled wire solder into the opening to the pin. See the Schlueter U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,360.
Still further it has been proposed to provide a sleeve which fits over one or more wire end portions and which is crimped to provide a solid connection between the wire end portions. Some sleeves of this type are provided with an insulating sleeve and some are uninsulated. Examples of such sleeve wire joints are sold under the trademarks "PIGGY" and "STA-KON" by The Thomas & Betts Co. of Elizabeth, N.J.
The method for making a solder joint and the solder joint made thereby of the present invention differ from the previously proposed solder joints by providing for the bringing together of a wire end portion and an end tab of a male connector mounted on a cantilever support arm which is fixed to an end flange of a hub on which the coils of a multi-coil assembly are mounted followed by placing a ring of encircling material around the juxtaposed end tab of a connector and the wire end portion followed by inverting the multi-coil assembly and dipping the encircled end tab and wire end portion assemblies into a solder bath. If desired, prior to soldering, the assemblies can be crimped to ensure a good metal to metal connection between the ring of encircling material and the wire end portion and the end tab. The resulting solder joint assemblies are uniform in size and take up a minimum of space thereby ensuring adequate spacing between solder joint assemblies and avoiding solder bridging between adjacent solder joint assemblies.